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I ADORE AN HONEST AND TRUTHFUL CHARACTER WITH VERY CLEVER THOUGHTS

Our Type Reader for February is John 'Sissydude' Webster

JOHN ANSWERS THE TYPE QUESTIONNAIREIn addition to being February's Type Reader, John Webster is also the artist behind this month's exuberant window display which features the best of kitsch, cute and creepy. An avid collector of the weird and wonderful, John's aesthetic sensibility translates into his discerning taste in books.

What is the
first book you remember loving?

A.A. Milne’s Winnie The Pooh books for
sure and Georgie and the Robbers by Richard Bright (which came with a read -a
–long 45). And who knows how many Golden Books I went through. But those were
mostly about the illustrations.

What is your
favourite virtue in a book?

When my heart and brain instantly “gets it”. I can watch an awful movie or TV show all the
way through. But a book, if I don’t feel it… won’t be finishing that. Not
happening.

What do you
appreciate most in a book character?

I adore an honest and truthful character
with very clever thoughts.

What
character (real or fictional) do you dislike the most?

Who
wrote The Secret? Rhonda Bryne it is!

If you were
to write a non-fiction book about anything, what would it be about?

I’d
write about myself… and make art for it. Picture book with words titled
‘Sissydude’.

Your
favourite prose authors?

Truman Capote & Bruce Chatwin

Your favourite poets?

Not a poetry fan. I love great song
lyrics though… that’s my fave poetry. I get a kick out of reading Rod McKuen’s
1960s and 70’s books of poetry. They can be hilarious. Many a party has
included readings. Check out his books ‘Listen To The Warm’ and ‘Fields Of
Wonder’. Seriously.

I always did in my college years. ‘Still
Life With Woodpecker’ y’all! Never read books on public transit anymore. I just
watch people staring at their phones. I
really miss when you’d see everyone reading books in the 1980’s. Clan Of The
Cave Bear and Danielle Steele as far as the eye could see. There was always
some kid pretending to read James Joyce’s Ulysses.

What qualities do you want in a book you’re reading while traveling?

Again, not reading much when I’m not at
home. Books are quite distracting for me on a journey. I like to watch and see what’s around me.
Though something fluffy and fun like Tina Fey’s Bossypants, early David Sedaris
and awesome Pauline Kael film review books have worked in the past. What book
have you never read but have always meant to? Do you think you will ever read
it?

Kerouac’s ‘On The Road’. I’ve tried
about a dozen times and I just can’t seem to get past the first paragraph
without rolling my eyes. It’s no Peyton Place.

What book do
you pretend to have read, but in fact have not?

Ulysses for sure and anything by Ayn
Rand. I love hating Ayn Rand, it’s so
much fun because people who love her are usually THE WORST.If you could
force a single celebrity to read a specific book in its entirety, who would you
choose, and what book would you make them read?

Well, I have great bathroom reads that
are always in the loo. My three latest go-to's are Marlene Dietrich’s ‘ABC’,
Boyd McDonald’s ‘Cruising The Movies’ and Francis Davis’ ‘Afterglow, A Last
Conversation With Pauline Kael’.

To be honest Dietrich’s ‘ABC’ has been
in my bathroom for like 15 years. It’s sooooo great. A never-ending pleasure. Basically
Dietrich sharing her thoughts on random things organized in letters of the
alphabet. Examples: Potatoes: “I love
them. I eat them.” Baby: “The
all-important. The wonder. The never disappointing. The reason for enduring
anything and everything. Living confidence. The epitome of trust. A fragile,
helpless Hercules.

Yep, pretty awesome.

Boyd McDonald’s ‘Cruising The Movies’ is
his “sexual guide” to televised cinema that was originally published in 1985.
It’s a ton of fun reading McDonald’s thoughts on male stars and their impressive
(or not so impressive) body parts. Extremely witty and subversive.

I’m a huge fan of Pauline Kael. In
Afterglow, Kael dishes about her life and the movies in 126 delicious pages. Smart
and sassy till the end, that Kael. BTW, she actually loved the Sex And The City
series.

I’m also about to start reading Evelyn
Waugh’s Sword Of Honor. A neighbor of mine lent it to me after he found out my
cat Sebastian was named after the Brideshead Revisited character. He insisted
that I read it.

We will see. It’s a fictional account of WWII and I don’t
think Anthony Blanche makes an appearance. This might end up being my new
Ulysses.